ABSTRACT
Transpupillary thermotherapy (TTT) used as either an adjunct to plaque brachytherapy or a primary treatment for choroidal melanoma can cause several intraocular complications, particularly in the retina. A 61-year-old woman had a macular choroidal melanoma measuring 8 × 7.5 × 3.6 mm and received TTT in three sessions, each 6 months apart. After the second treatment, pigmented material began to accumulate on the peripheral retina with an increasing pace. The tumor gradually regressed for 16 months, followed by a sudden regrowth. Enucleation of the eye revealed that the peripheral subretinal pigmented deposits consisted of pigment-laden macrophages and retinal pigment epithelial cells without viable tumor cells. The rare complication of peripheral subretinal pigment dispersion following TTT should not be alarming, but close monitoring is recommended. [Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging 2008;39:60-62.]
AUTHORS
From the Ocular Oncology Service (HK, SB, SA), Department of Ophthalmology;
and the Department of Pathology (FS), Hacettepe University School of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey.
Accepted for publication June 7, 2007.
Address correspondence to Hayyam Kiratli, MD, Hacettepe Hastanesi Göz ABD, Sihhiye 06100 Ankara, Turkey.
